Beverly Hills mayor launches mental wellness series with Holocaust survivor Edith Eger

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. (KABC) — Beverly Hills Mayor Lili Bossi launched a mental wellness series at City Hall Friday, in which she described the weight of the pandemic, the political divide, and a recent series of antisemitic flyers in the city.

“I felt like there was a sense of darkness and I really needed to find light,” she said.

The child of Holocaust survivors, Bossi turned to Dr. Edith Eva Eger to kick off the series.

Eger is a Holocaust survivor, trauma expert, and author. While she and her sister — natives of Hungary — survived, their parents were killed at Auschwitz. She spoke of ways to approach a painful past.

“Auschwitz really showed us how to care for one another,” she said. “Commit ourselves to each other, as we are doing here today,” she added.

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Eger was joined by her first child, Dr. Marianne Engle, also a psychologist. In the crowd, many women were hanging on Eger’s every word.

“To be who you are. To be the best of who you are and draw from your strengths and not let someone else dictate who you are,” said Carole Chasin.

One woman was visiting from Mexico and said Dr. Eger’s book helped her through depression. She finished the book yesterday and found out about the event on Twitter.

Eger stressed a practice of self-love and appreciating one’s individuality.

“When you get up in the morning, look in the mirror and say ‘I love me,’ and that’s not narcissistic,” she said. “Self-love is self-care.”